The present invention relates to firefighter's pants and more particularly to such pants incorporating a back brace. Firefighting is of such a nature that it often requires considerable physical exertion by firefighters including the necessity of lifting heavy objects and moving one's body into awkward positions. As a result of this kind of duty, firefighters are liable to injure their backs, and accordingly it is desirable to provide each firefighters with a back brace to prevent injury when fighting fires.
It is, of course, possible for firefighters to separately put on conventional back braces before putting on their firefighter's suits. However, if separate back braces are provided, they may be misplaced. Furthermore, it is a disadvantage to spend time putting on a back brace and a firefighter's suit separately since it is necessary for the firefighter to quickly don his suit in order to arrive at the fire as soon as possible.
Therefore, it is a desirable objective that firefighter's pants incorporate a back brace in such a manner that the pants and the back brace can be put on at the same time with a minimum of effort and without requiring time consuming extra motions.
In the prior art, a back brace has been built into a firefighter's suit and is not provided as a separate item. However, the problem with such a construction is that it does not permit the back brace to "float" with respect to the suit so that the back brace can move with the body of the firefighter as the firefighter's body moves relative to the suit. Therefore, it is a further desirable objective that firefighter's pants incorporate a back brace which is supported by the pants so that the pants and back brace can be put on together in an efficient manner, and yet which will allow the back brace to "float" with respect to the pants, or in other words, the back brace can follow the movements of the body of the firefighter as he moves within the suit.
In addition, it is desirable that the support means for supporting the back brace within the pants is adjustable so that the initial position of the back brace with respect to the pants before being put on can be adjusted for the height of the firefighter so that when the pant are put on, the back brace will be properly positioned on the body of the firefighter.